What is the best way to view DivX/XviD/OGM/MKV on the go W/O RECOMPRESSION?

[darthjones]

What is the best way to enjoy DivX/XviD/OGM/MKV videos on the go without having to recompress them? I was looking at several different personal video players but all of them seem to require the user to recompress his/her videos first. That is a hassle if you have a lot that you want to take with you. I was hoping that Archos or Creative had something that could handle DIVX, XVID, MKV, and/or OGM natively but that seems like a pipe dream at this time. One of the options that I was told about was to get a Pocket PC. Coupled with a program like Core this would be a perfect solution. However, I would like to know if there are any other options before making a purchase. Does anyone know of any other options other than getting myself a laptop?

Thanks

[NeilH]

I went the Pocket PC route and have never looked back. I got a Dell Axim, and so long as you can live with the small ish (but 640 by 480) screen what you get is a movie player, games player, mps (OGG) player, internet surfer, GPS etc etc. Loads of software out there (much for free). And with 4GB SD cards and an 8GB CF card in the dell you can carry a lot of movies, music and software. Apart from Real video there's no format restrictions, as you say TCPMP is superb for PPC. There's my vote.

[Scarpad]

I also have an Axim it works pretty well but there is a Narrow viewing angle to the screen that has to be dealt with. I have a 2GB SD and an 8 GB Microdrive.

I also have a Creative Zen Vision M that holds 30 GB of Music and Video and it handled every Divx and Xvid File I've thrown at it.

[darthjones]

I also have an Axim it works pretty well but there is a Narrow viewing angle to the screen that has to be dealt with. I have a 2GB SD and an 8 GB Microdrive.

Doesn't TCPMP allow you to rotate the screen 90 degrees in order to take advantage of a wide screen angle?

[darthjones]

I went the Pocket PC route and have never looked back. I got a Dell Axim, and so long as you can live with the small ish (but 640 by 480) screen what you get is a movie player, games player, mps (OGG) player, internet surfer, GPS etc etc. Loads of software out there (much for free). And with 4GB SD cards and an 8GB CF card in the dell you can carry a lot of movies, music and software. Apart from Real video there's no format restrictions, as you say TCPMP is superb for PPC. There's my vote.

Strangely, I was actually considering getting an Axim. A few questions -

Do you have the VGA adapter? If so, does it allow you to watch 640*480 videos at that resolution on a monitor?

Does TCPMP allow you to rotate the video 90 degrees so that you can watch videos using a wider angle?

Are you able to run most of your files at full fps?

[NG]

[quote="darthjones"]

Does TCPMP allow you to rotate the video 90 degrees so that you can watch videos using a wider angle?

Yes it does.

Are you able to run most of your files at full fps?

If you're referring to the newer Dell Axims then yes they do.

Regarding finding a player that plays divx/xvid with out recoding then I have to agree with the above poster that there are a number that does this - like the Archos and Creative models. MKV or OGM is where things get sticky.

OGM *may* be possible on a unit out there however if you're wedded to MKV then a PocketPC is your only option.

[jntaylor63]

I just got the Cowan A2 / 30 gigs.

It won't due OGM or MKV..

But it will do DivX / XviD avi files at full 720xYYY res, high bitrate with AC3 5.1 sound. (down mix to 2 chnl out)

It will also play WMV, but I don't use that format. Does MP3, WMA, FLAC and OGG audio, view JPG and TXT files AND its a pocket PVR. (have not tried it though)

check it out, beats the hell out of an IPOD with Video. The Creative Zen was a close second, but this will play back my Xvid with AC3. I just copy the movie from my HTPC to the Cowan

http://www.cowonamerica.com/products/cowon/a2/

Can be had at Amazon for <400.00